Cushioned pneumatic vehicle-tire.



Patented Dec. I9, |899.

E. KEMPSHALL.

.GUSHINED PNEUMATIC VEHICLE TIRE.

(Appliceztion led Nov. 27, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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TTn STATES PATENT Trios.,

ELEAZER KEMPSI-IALL, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE RUBBER TIRE COMPANY OF AMERICA,` OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CUSHIONED PN EU NIATIC VEHICLE-TIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'latent No. 639,399, dated December 19, 1899.

l y Application iiled November 27y 1899. Serial No. 738,427. (No model.)

To all who/n, zit may concern:

Be it known that I, ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cushioned Pneumatic Vehicle-Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the production of a cushioned pneumatic tire; and it consists in the novel features of construetion and relative arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described in the specification, clearly illustrated in the drawings, and par ticularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure l represents a perspective view showing my cushioned pneumatic tire. represents a cross-section of the tire on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a crosssection of the tire on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. t is a detail cross-sectional view of a portion of the tire, on an enlarged scale, showing the location and arrangement of the ends of the plies composing the fabric tubes and the manner of securing the tire in place on a wheel-rim.

rReferring to the drawings,- c, represents a cushioned pneumatic tire constructed in accordance with my invention. As shown, the tire has a general oval shape and a flat inner face a to bear upon the complemental fiat face of a rim 'a2 of a wheel. Any force tending to give said tire a sidewise movement isopposed by plates or iianges a3 upon said rim and the said opposing faces of the tire and the rim. The broad flat bearing-surfaces of the tire and rim serve to maintain the tire in position and also serve as lever-arms, through which the tire works to resist a sidewise force tending to rock the tire. This construction of the inner face of the tire, together with the flanges, serves not only to maintain the tire on the rim in proper position, but to keep the tire from being rocked out of position by the heavy strains or blows to which vehicletires are subjected.

Lugs di, having ribs a5, are builtinto the inner wall of thetire and protrude out of the inner flat faces of the tire, as shown in Figs. l and 4. The wheel-rim is formed with openings to receive the lug and its rib. Bolts are passed through the rim into the lugs in order Fig. 2

to more firmly bind the tire to the wheel-rim when additional means of this sort are desired. The rib on the lug by its engagement with a complemental recess in the rim serves to keep the lug from being twisted in the tire by the bolt. In place of these lugsI may use rubber ribs projecting from the inner face of the tire and resting in complemental grooves in the face of the wheel-rim. I have shown one such rib at a in Fig. l, the number of ribs or lugs being a matter of degree and not requiring further illustration.

V While I have shown a tire having a flat inner face, I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to such a form of my cushioned pneumatic tire, since the tire may be made, and for some uses would be made,`

round in cross-section and without any flat inner face. The at-inner-face form I prefer for the reason that the flat face aids in keeping the tire in place upon the Wheel, and in this form the several joints and wrappings of the fabric can be applied on the flat-faced side of the tire, where they are subjected to a less degree of stress and strains than the balance of the tire is subjected to, as will be evident by an inspection of Figs. 2, 3, and 4E, the inside base of the tire resting in and being held by a form composed of the rim Ca2 and flanges d3 of the wheel.

The tire is preferably provided with oppositely inclined or beveled side faces blo blo between the inner flat face d and the outer or tread face, said side faces giving the crosssection of the tire a Wedge shape. The inner portions of the tubes of reinforcing fabric b4 and b5, hereinafter described, are between the inclined sides Z310, giving the wedge-shaped inner portion of the tire stability and lessening its tendency to tip or roll laterally out from between the lianges a3 a3 of the Wheelrim. This Wedge form of the tire is very desirable, because it gives the tire a firm frictional bearing on the flanges a3 a3, the Wedge portion being more or less compressed when its inclined sides are seated on the correspondingly-inclined sides of the flanges as.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4, my elishioned tire, as shown, consists of an endless tube and a valve-stem f, formed as parts of one unitary integral structure,the walls form- IOO ing the air-chamber of the tube being continued to form the walls ofthe air-passage of the valve-stem. The tubeand valve-stem are each what are termed built-up structures that are made by superimposed mull(iple layers of required material instead of being built up of one layer, whereby the strength and durability and efficiency of the structure are largely increased.

The tire is composed of an inner member, an outer member, and a cushion-tube of rubber,which acts as a cushion to the tire. While other compounds of rubber and sulfur may be employed for this purpose, yet in practice I have found t-hat sponge-rubber gives better results in that it not only yields inwardly, but also laterally, therebycushioning the ef* feet of blows upon the tire as well as the effect of strains due to pressure. I desire it understood, however, that I do not limit myseif to sponge-rubber as the material of the tube b. The said tube Z9 or cushion is proportioned so that it absorbs the lateral and longitudinal movements of the tread portion of the tire-that is to say, the cushion is so thick and substantial that there is sufficient elastic material between its inner and outer surfaces to yield or stretch Linder strain exerted on the tread, thus t-aking up and absorbing movements of the tread and reducing liability of the tearing apart of the several layers. The cushion b also constitutes an elliptic spring in the compressed portion of the tire between the wheel-rim and the pavement, which adds materially to the efficiency of the tire in preventing contact between the rim-flanges and the pavement in the event of the deflation of the air-chamber in a pneumatic tire.

The air-chamber b2 is formed by a layer of rubber b3, backed by a multiple-ply reinforcing-tube of fabric b4, (here shown as consisting of five plies,) although the number may be varied, depending upon the strength of the material employed. The parts 53134 form together the air-tube of the tire, the fabric backing serving to protect the air-tube against injury from without and also serving to limit the extent to which the tube can be pushed outwardly at any point by pressure. erably the air-cham berin mycushioned pneumatic tire is relatively small in diameter-in ordinary cases in -the vicinity of an inch. This reduces as far as practicable the element of defect in the wallof the air-tube, and by means ofthe built-up construction ofthe backing b4 the rubber tube b3 is forced byA the pressure of air to a uniform cylinderto wit, the inner wall of the fabric backing b4m thus avoiding the condition of affairs that has frequently produced the bursting .of the airtubes in tires prior to my invention-that is to say, when an air-tube is not provided with a fabric backing and a Weak spotl exists in the rubber of the air-tube when pressure is applied it forces this weak spot in the rubber Preft out and the pressure concentrates at this point, bursting the air-chamber.

The cushion b', as shown, is arranged about the fabric backing b4.

b5 represents a multiple-ply tube of reinforcing fabric arranged about and secured to the cushion b. The number ot' plies cornposing the tube h5 will depend upon the strength and thickness of the material employed. Splices of the several fabric tubes are made on the inner side of the tire, and some short pieces (see Fig. 4) of fabric areinserted in the outer tube b5 in order to fill out the tube on the inside in a flat form.

h6 represents a facing or tube of rubber' applied and secured to the fabric tube b5.

The precise form given the tire is obtained by means of the faces of the mold.

Thevalve-stemfis composed of a core f', which forms a continuation of the tube h3, as shown. The core f' is formed with an airpassage f2, which forms a continuation of the air-chamber Z22 of the. tire. Surrounding and secured to the core f' is a multiple-ply tube of fabric f3, certain plies of this tube being extended, as at f4, into and anchored to the interior of the tube b", (see Fig'. 3,) in order to more securely bind the several parts of the tires together.

f5 represents a facing of rubber surrounding and connected to the fabric backing f3, said facing of rubber forming a continuation of the several layers of rubber comprising the tube.

In practice the tire and tube are built up together out of green stock andv vulcanized in to one unitary integral structure. The tire is protected from puncture by a double fabric tube, and the required resiliency is given the tire by means of the rubber cushion and the inner member. The cushion b' further serves to allow movement of the outer and inner members in opposite directions laterally as well as longitudinally, produced by pressure on the tire when in use.

The valve-stem, it will be seen, is firmly anchored to the air-tube and. is an integral part of the same, and the air-passage of the valve-stem is protected by a fabric backing, the wall of said air-passage forming an integral extension of the tube b3, which forms the wall of the air-chamber b2 of the tire. Furthermore, the fabric f3 of the stem is so ernbedded in and anchored to the structure of the tube that any pull upon the stem is resisted by the fabric, and thecore or wall j" of the air-passage f2 is relieved from strain and protected from injury.

The valve stem passes through and is closely surrounded by the fabric backings h4 b5 and the intermediate cushion, and its adhesion to said parts adds materiallyto the strength of the connection of the valve-stem to the tire.

The fabric employed in making my described tire consists of cotton or other strong IOD IIO

fabric treated with rubber in the usual way. rlhc several plies of 'fabric and the tubes of rubber being arranged as shown and vulcanized, the rubber of the fabric and of the tubes unites. The particular arrangement of the plies may be variously modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my iuvention, which includes a cushioned pneumatic tire-that is to say, a tire having a cushion-tube of sponge-rubber or equivalent material interposed between and connected to the inner member or air-chamber of the tire and the outer member or wear-cover of the tire.

The tire is put on the rim by first deiiating said tire, removing the nut on the end of the bolt 0.7, which ties the side plates d3 to the rim, taking off one of said side plates, then placing the tire on the rim and bolting its lugs to the rim, and then replacing the side plate.

While my invention is particularly adapted for pneumatic tires, yet I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to such form, since it may be embraced in and cover other forms of tires where the central space or member is filled more or less completely with rubber or other material instead of air. Since in both forms-that is, the form in which there is an air-chamber and the form in which there is no air-chamber-so far as the fabric tubes are' concerned, each form is composed of an inner yielding member having a fabric backing, an outer wear member supported on theV fabric backing, and a resilient cushion-tube arranged between and connected to the inner and outer members.

It will be seen that I have provided a cushioned tire comprising an inner yielding member adapted to absorb radial inward movements of the tread portion and backed by a tube of reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop also backed by a tube of reinforcing` fabric which is separate from the first-mentioned tube, and an intermediate motion-absorbing tubular rubber cushion interposed between said reinforcing fabric tubes and vulcanized thereto. I am enabled by this combination to give each of the three general parts of the tire characteristics 4particularly tting it for the function it is to. perform and at the same time insure durability and freedom from liability of the ripping apart or the separation of said parts. The longitudinal and lateral movements of the tread portion of the tire will be absorbed by the said tubular cushion or imparted, considerably reduced, through the cushion to the inner yielding member.

I believe it to be new to combine in a cushioned vehicle-tire three general parts-via ,an inner yielding member backed by a reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a reinforcing fabric, and an intermediate motionabsorbing tubular rubber cushion interposed between said reinforcing fabrics and vulcanized thereto.

Having thus explained the nature of my in- Vention, and described away of constructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it maybe made or of all the modes ofits use, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

l. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner yielding member backed by a tube of reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a separate tube of reinforcing fabric, and an intermediate -motion-absorbing rubber cushion interposed between said reinforcing fabrics, said parts being vulcanized together.

2. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner yielding member, and a series of surrounding layers vulcanized together and including a backing of reinforcing fabric surrounding the inneryielding member,a motionabsorbing cushion surrounding said backing, a backing of reinforcing fabric surrounding the said cushion, and an outer facing of rubber.

3. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner tube of rubber, a backing of reinforcing fabric surrounding the same, a motionabsorbing cushion surrounding said backing, a backing of reinforcing fabric surrounding the saidcushion, and an outer facing of rubber, said parts being vulcanized together.

4. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner yielding member backed by a reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a reinforcing fabric, and having an outer treadface and' a substantially fiat inner face, and an intermediate motion-absorbing cushion interposed between and united with said reinforcing fabrics.

5. A cushioned three-part vehicle-tire comprising an-inner yielding member backed by a reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a reinforcing fabric and having an outer tread-face, a substantially flat inner fac-e, and oppositely inclined or beveled sides between the inner and outer faces said sides imparting a wedge formv to the cross-section of the tire, and an intermediate motion-absorbing cushion interposed between and united with said reinforcing fabrics, the said reinforcing fabrics extending inwardly between the beveled sides of the tire.

6. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner yielding air-chamber backed by a reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a reinforcing fabric,an intermediate motion-absorbing cushion interposed between the said reinforcing fabrics, and a valve-stem formed as an integral extension of the walls of the Yair-chamber and extending through the said cushion and reinforcing fabrics.

7. A cushioned vehicle-tire comprising an inner yielding airchamber backed by a reinforcing fabric, an outer envelop backed by a reinforcing fabric,au intermediate motion-absorbing cushion interposed between the said reinforcing fabrics, a valve-stem comprising a core of rubber formed as an integra-l extension of the walls of the air-chamberand having an air-passage, a multiple tube of fabric IOC IIO

IIS

surrounding and connected to said core, portions of said tube being extended and anchored in the Wall of the air-chamber, and a rubber facing surrounding and connected to said tube and formed also as an integral extension of the Wall of the air-chamber, the said valve-stem extending through and being closely embraced by the said cushion and reinforciug fabrics.

8. A cushioned vehicle-tire, comprising an inner yielding member backed by` multipleply tubes of fabric, an outer envelop backed by multiplefply tubes of fabric, and a motionabsorbing cushion arranged between and connected to the inner and outer fabric tubes, the laps and joints of said plies of fabric being arranged in the inner side of the tube.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL.

'\Vit11esses:

WILLIAM QUINBY, A. W. HARRISON. 

